


Ginny in America

by chardougla



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: England isn't the only country to have a war, Friendship, Hinny eventually, PTSD, Pre-Epilogue, Wizarding Politics, making new friends, post—hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-08-11 16:12:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7899376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chardougla/pseuds/chardougla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ginny's experiences after the events of the books. A different take on Shameless_Dakini's Ginevra: from margin to center (highly recommend btw)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Ginevra: from margin to center](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5310542) by [Shameless_Dakini](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shameless_Dakini/pseuds/Shameless_Dakini). 



> Ok so this fic is based on the work by Shameless_Dakini that I mentioned in the summary. Basically my fic takes up about midway through chapter 9 in her fic, or right after Ginny leaves for America. Most of my characters have been based on her take on them, and I highly recommend you read hers. If I ever take anything from her fic, I'll denote it with a (SD) right after.

Ginny first met Karl at a bar.

 

She was nursing a glass of muggle-made IPA. It was the bar’s schtick, they served the most popular muggle beers. She was about halfway through her glass when the bartender looked at her funny, then exclaimed, “Holy shit! You’re Ginny Weasley!”

 

She looked at him, shocked that this total stranger knew her name, “Do we know each other?” she asked, perplexed.

 

“No but I know who you are. You’re a starting chaser for the BU Terriers Quidditch team right?” after she nodded, the bartender extended his hand in greeting, “Karl Lingis, huge fan, I’ve been going to Terriers games for quite a few years now, and I’ve got to say, you’re one of the most talented chasers I’ve ever seen. The way you play is so fluid, it’s a real testament to the game.”

 

Ginny didn’t really know how to respond. She had been recognized for her parts in the war, for being Harry Potter’s girl, but never solely for her accomplishments on the pitch. It was a refreshing change of pace. She thanked him for the praise.

 

“Yeah ok sorry to change the subject, but I’m not actually the bartender, I’m just covering for a buddy of mine while he proposes to his girlfriend. He’s coming back in like a couple minutes, and then I was wondering if I could get you another drink after that.” Sensing that she was about to shut him down out of habit, he hurried to reassure her, “Not trying to make a move or anything, just not sure I could face my roommate if I passed up the chance to have a real conversation with the Flaming Brit.”

 

“The Flaming What-now?” Ginny sputtered, not sure if she heard him correctly. She had a  _ nickname _ ?

 

“It’s what the guys in the stands call you,” Karl explained, “It references the accent and, you know, the hair,” he finished with a sheepish grin. She thought about the nickname for a second, deciding she liked it a whole lot better than Least-Shaggable-Witch-in-England.(SD)

 

She considered his offer for a beer, doing a more in-depth appraisal of him. He was tall, with cool blue eyes and a muscular build. He reminded her a bit of a taller Harry with his raven-black hair and build, but seemed much more outgoing and radiated the kind of social confidence that Harry lacked. She ended up accepting his offer, warning him that she had frighteningly expensive tastes, to which he declared he was more than willing to pay for.

 

They ended up going to a rather posh bar where she ordered a shot of firewhiskey that he, true to his word, payed for. She learned that he was studying part-time at the Uni with the intent of eventually majoring in International Magical Relations. She in turn told him about her dreams of playing professionally to which he breezily said she would easily achieve, launching into a detailed statistical analysis of her scoring splits and advanced stats she had never even heard of, finishing his rant with a ringing endorsement of her chances at pro. Honestly she had started to glaze over when he went into Quaffle possession stats, but his knowledge of the game was impressive. He blushed when she told him so, and admitted he was something of a sports nerd, even following muggle sports when his work allowed him to, and attending Terriers games whenever he could. When she pressed him as to what his job was, he got secretive, refusing to tell her and switching the subject as soon as he could, querying her as to what classes she was taking, and they found out they had two classes in common, both GenEds that had over 300 people in them. Then the conversation turned to a shared rant about one professor in particular who had a literal rat living in his hair. As Ginny sat and laughed, she wondered as to why she was opening up to this total stranger so much. She reflected it was his personality, he was just an open person. 

 

He then mentioned that she used to date Harry Potter. “What? How did you know that?” she asked, wondering now if perhaps she had a stalker.

 

“I met a Hogwarts classmate of yours a couple of weeks ago, at a-” here he paused, before continuing with, “-work function. We were talking Quidditch and I mentioned I went to BU, and then he mentioned you, and I mentioned how good you are, and then the conversation somehow turned to the fact that you and Harry Potter used to date.”

 

“Who was it,” Ginny asked, curious as to who this forthcoming classmate was.

 

“Ah, what was his name? I’m forgetting, he was a shorter Irish guy, last name started with an F, first name was something like Samuel I think? No that’s not it…”

 

“Seamus Finnegan?” Ginny wondered.

 

“That’s the one!” Karl remembered, “funny guy. Know him?”

 

“Yeah he’s one of my good friends,” Ginny replied.

 

“Really? Huh, small world.”

 

Ginny and Karl continued to talk, before the bar closed. Karl said goodnight, mentioning something he needed to do. Before he left, he gave her his number, telling her to stay in touch. He then sheepishly enquired as to whether she might be able to maybe score him and his roommate tickets to the upcoming rivalry match against Boston College. She smiled, and said she’d see what she could do.

 

Over the next weeks she did stay in touch, meeting up occasionally to study or chat about Quidditch and Uni life. Her friends teased her about it, asking when she would just get on with it and lay with him. For some reason, she never felt that way around him, even though he was certainly handsome enough. She mentioned it and him to Demelza in a letter, wondering if she was just tiring of sex. Demelza remarked in her return that it could be that.   
  


_ What it sounds more like to me though is that you don’t feel that way about him because he doesn’t seem to feel like that about you. I mean from your first meeting he was very clear that he was more interested in your Quidditch stats than your legs. It’s not entirely a bad thing you know. To have a guy friend you’re not actively trying to shag _

 

She rolled her eyes a bit, reading the last part. Of course she knew that, Merlin, one of her best friends was a guy, and she had  _ never _ thought of Neville as anything but a friend. She just, she never really considered that she might get close to an attractive American without either of them making even the slightest of passes at each other.

 

Eventually, the year went by. Karl became her closest friend at Uni. He was there after every failed test or miserable game. He would know exactly what to say to make her feel better, whether it be humor or commiseration. He was also an excellent listener. He had the way of listening that seemed to say that it was vitally important to him that he heard what she was trying to say. He would nod after she finished, as if to say, _ Good, now that I know she answered C on problem 37, I can finally continue on living _ . After her Quidditch team lost in the national quarterfinals, it ironically had been her doing the consoling as Karl railed for a solid 30 minutes on how the refs had screwed them over in the loss to Alabama. She had actually thought they were lucky the score was as close as it was, they were so outplayed, but Karl was having none of it. 

 

“I can understand if it’s a good team, but you lost to fuckin  _ Bama _ . They got into the tourney on an autobid from their shitty-ass conference. How else could you lose, if not for the refs. If they had called it like a real game, and not a barroom brawl, you would’ve won in a blowout.” he ranted,  “Fucking Bama,” he muttered, “bunch of goddam inbred goons, probably learned how to fly from their mom-cousin” This last line caused her to lose it, as they both laughed for a solid five minutes.

 

“You have to meet my friends from Hogwarts sometime,” she wheezed, “they’re right up your alley.”

 

“Well if they’re anything like you, they’ll show up to meet me five minutes late and in the wrong bar,” he joked, referencing the second time they’d met, where she’d gone to the wrong coffee shop across town. Ginny thought this was a horribly unfair accusation, as both coffee shops had the same name. She briefly considered hexing him, until she saw him barely holding in the laughter, at which point they both lost it again. 

  
The one thing that continued to bother her was his refusal to talk about his job. Whenever the conversation got there, he always changed the subject as quickly as possible. The one time she questioned him further about it, he got very quiet and simply said, “You don’t want to know what I do for a livin g.” It worried her. What did he do that he didn’t want her know about it. Was he a criminal? Did he have no job and was embarrassed about it? Eventually she just let it go, figuring he would tell her when he got more comfortable with their friendship.

Eventually her year came to an end, and she prepared to go home. Karl came and helped her pack, at which point he got into a standoff with some guy named Ryan(SD). Apparently the two had a history as Karl promptly left the building, slamming the door behind him. He later apologized to her for leaving so abruptly, saying that seeing Ryan brought back some, “bad memories,” refusing to elaborate when questioned. She forgave him, then offered to go find this Ryan bloke and give him what was coming to him. Karl laughed and told her he pitied the poor fellow that risked the wrath of the Flaming Brit.

  
The memory of the joke gave her a smile as she stepped into the international portkey-only to be greeted with a raging argument in the middle of the Burrow living room.(SD)


	2. Chapter 2

“We are most definitely  _ not _ hosting that unit here,” Mrs. Weasley was insisting loudly.

 

“And why not?” Mr. Weasley asked, “they’re offering  _ very _ generous pay, and we could use the funds. So what is your reason?”

 

“You know my-” Mrs. Weasley began, and then she noticed Ginny, and the entire room devolved into hugs and excitement. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the first to greet her, with Harry lingering back while Ron teased her and Hermione commented on her hair. Then her mom was on her and Ginny’s world was constricted to her mom and a loving interrogation.

 

Dinner that night started all about Ginny. She shared her stories including Karl, endured a fair amount of questioning as to whether they were an item.

 

“Ew mom, no” She protested when her mom asked her, “he’s like, my best friend!”

 

Gradually, however, the topic of the conversation shifted to the argument that she had interrupted. In essence Mr. Weasley had agreed to house a unit of the US Dragon Corps in exchange for a hefty fee. Mrs. Weasley had not been pleased to find this out.

 

“I don’t understand though,” Hermione queried, “why would the American Aurors not just stay as guests of the British Aurors?”

 

“Because the Dragon Corps are not Aurors,” Harry explained, “the Americans did away with their Aurors and instead established a magical army.” He then went on to explain what Ginny had heard bits and pieces about during her time in America. About one year into what was known internationally as the Magical English Civil War, the USA and Canada had gotten into a petty border dispute.

 

“Wait a second!” Hermione interrupted, “you mean to tell me that while we were saving the world from Voldemort they were arguing about  _ borders?” _

 

Harry shrugged, “So I’ve been told.” He then explained that they had even fought a few battles over it. In the end the border stayed the same, but the result was a bit of a cold war between the two nations. While their muggle counterparts remained the closest of allies, the magical governments built up their armies and did away with the Auror departments of both governments. The Dragon Corps were the shock troops of the American Magical Army, elite troops who rode domesticated dragons into battle.

 

“They also have a terrible reputation,” Mrs. Weasley interrupted, “butchering surrendering Canadian troops and slaughtering camp followers after a battle. At least that’s what Beatrice told me at the market the other day.”

 

“Beatrice is Canadian,” Mr. Weasley exclaimed, “Of course she would say that. All those reports are unconfirmed anyways.”

 

“Why are they even coming here?” Ginny asked, “I would’ve thought the Americans would want their best troops guarding the border.”

 

“They’re renewing the peace treaty with Canada,” Ron explained, “They always do a show of force this time of the year. I’ve actually been chosen to witness the signing.” He added, chest swelling with pride.

 

“We just got over our own war,” Mrs. Weasley argued, “Must we involve ourselves in another?”

 

“We’re not  _ involving  _ ourselves in anything,” Mr. Weasley retorted, “What we’re doing is being paid a very large amount of money to host five men and their dragons.”

 

“Well what do you three think,” Mrs. Weasley asked Harry, Ron, and Hermione, “I know none of you live here anymore but I’m curious as to your opinions.”

 

Harry paused, clearly choosing his words carefully. “I have never met any member of the Dragon Corps,” he began, “so I cannot testify to their character. I have, however, met the family that hosted during the last renewal. It wasn’t the Dragon Corps, just a unit of infantry, however they had nothing but good things to say about them and their behavior. With that in mind, I don’t see any real reason to not do it.”

 

“I nearly got into a bar fight with an American soldier once,” Ron stated, “the smarmy git had the audacity to suggest America had suffered more than England. Harry and the lads had to hold me back. I say don’t do it.”

 

Hermione, thoughtfully, said, “I have never had any real experiences with Americans, much less their soldiers, but I think it behooves us not to worry too much. If the Americans act up, we can always sue their government for more money. Besides, hasn’t Mr. Weasley already agreed to host?”

 

Mr. Weasley nodded, “They should be arriving sometime tonight.”

 

“Then I think you should continue with it, because you have in essence already committed to it,” Hermione finished.

 

“But how am I going to feed five dragons?” Mrs. Weasley protested, but she had given in.

 

At that moment, five huge gusts of wind shook the Weasley residence.  _ That would be the dragons, _ Ginny thought. A faint roaring could be heard, along with men shouting.

 

“Well,” Mr. Weasley sighed, “They’re here.” 

 

A fist then politely knocked on the door. “Hello?” a voice  _ very _ familiar to Ginny called from outside, “This is Captain Lingis of the US Dragon Corps. Is this the residence known as the Burrow? My orders state you have volunteered to host us.”

 

Ginny’s hands flew to her mouth in shock. Rushing past her father, she threw open the door to gaze upon the face of her best friend from uni, Karl Lingis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and reviews are always appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know how you like it. I love comments!


End file.
